Trolleys in a supermarket are an ambivalent symbol of our society.
They stand for choice and freedom but also for our exaggerated consuming.
I think that there are not many people in the world who never touched
a trolley. In the beginning they were little now they are becoming
bigger and bigger. Trolleys
can move in all directions and can be pushed together for storage.
The production of trolleys is not banal, therefore a research recycling
is really desirable. Until now I produced stools, children cars
and coat racks taking profit from the important trolley qualities.
I am working on a new project for a supermarket chain in Switzerland.

Leonardo da Vinci used a wooden chain for his bicycle. Nowadays,
chains have often to transmit rotation power from one axis to another
or to transport objects in a production process. The world of chains
is enormous because the application field is so big. A row of strong
and precise links are connected by hinges, so strength and flexibility
are combined. I profit from these qualities by constructing seat
faces for chairs, by hanging beds to the wall as a bridge, by stretching
a conveyer chain for a couch or by constructing shutters for bottle
racks. Chains have an industrial aspect and at the same time a touch
of jeweler’s work.

Springs

Rings

These
membrane springs are used in condensers which are fixed in a closed
oil bath. When the oil temperature changes, the membrane springs
have to compensate the volume difference. These springs exist in
different sizes and are made of stainless steel. I recycled plenty
of test springs which had to support some thousands of movements
and then were thrown away.

All sorts of rings are used in machines, motors and cars, for example,
as seals or bearings. Often they are rotating or supporting axial
movements. They have to be very precise and they make me think of
jewelleries for giants.

Defect
Bulbs

Raw
Bulbs

Friends
of mine are recycling glass bottles, cutting them with a flame.
They produce modern vases and drink glasses. Based on this technique
I constructed a machine with a disc player with which I can cut
defect bulbs. For the moment I use these delicate open glass balloons
for vases and little colour lamps.

Electric
bulbs are composed by a screw base, an electric wire and a glass
balloon. From a bulb factory I recycled some thousand raw glass
bulbs.

Car
Seats

Jacks

Car
seats are certainly more ergonomic than most of our design chairs,
this is specially true for the seats in high standard cars. Now
they can be adapted to each person, even be programmed, and some
of them have a heating inside. It is a pity to throw away so many
seats which are often still good. I realised three projects with
leather seats from Porsche, SAAB and Volkswagen, constructing a
reception space and living room furnitures.

To change
a wheel of a car or to ramp under it we need a jack. It is a small
but strong tool and every body can lift enormous weights with easy
movements. These little giants are magic and banal at the same time.
For the moment I am constructing candle sticks where I can adapt
the position of the light source.

Wheels

Cans

The
invention of the wheel 6000 years ago was probably the most important
invention for the our technical progress. It triggered the step
from tools to machines. Our life is not possible without millions
of wheels and rolls. Wheels are not only in all sorts of vehicles
and planes, but also in machines, cranes, computers, clocks, music
players, turbines. For this reason it is natural to find wheels
in all sizes and forms. I use the wheels in my objects specially
for movements and rotations, for example in stools and chairs, for
racks, doors, vases and lamps. They render the objects more practical
and surprising.

Cans for fruits, vegetables and meat were produced by billions.
They are very thin and have to be hygienic. For different projects
I worked with this cheap material which is known by every body.
Although cans are not anymore very fashionable they exist still
in a enormous number and can be recycled easily. For a big ashtray
project for Chesterfield I combined cans with big soup spoons.